Midland woman sentenced in mobile meth lab case

Published 11:00 am, Monday, October 19, 2015

A Midland woman accused of making methamphetamine after the vehicle she was riding in was stopped by a deputy with an active one pot meth lab on the dash has been sentenced.

Erica Jean Hansen, 44, first was charged with operating or maintaining a meth lab, which is punishable by up to 20 years in prison. She entered a guilty plea to an added count of purchasing or possessing ephedrine or pseudoephedrine to make methamphetamine, and was sentenced recently.

Midland County Circuit Court Judge Stephen P. Carras levied six months in jail held in abeyance with credit for 75 days, $1,250 fines and costs, and two years probation. Carras also allowed community service to be served in lieu of fines and costs. Purchasing or possessing ephedrine or pseudoephedrine to make methamphetamine is a felony punishable by up to five years in prison.

Hansen was arrested after a Midland County sheriff’s deputy conducted a traffic stop for a license plate violation at U.S. 10 and Hope Road in Lincoln Township at 4:11 a.m. on April 11.

The driver had an open beer in his hand when he was pulled over. A clear plastic bottle containing a liquid and a white substance, which is typical of a one pot meth lab, was found on the dash. Another plastic bottle was found in the vehicle and was emitting smoke, documents filed in court state.

The deputy noted the smell of chemicals emitting from the vehicle.

Also arrested after the traffic stop was the driver of the vehicle, Cameron Lee Smith, 42. He was charged with operating or maintaining a meth lab, and a referral to the county’s drug court program was filed in his case in June. The case is no longer open the public, indicating Smith was accepted to the program.